On June 21st at the Zirvoka House in Tribeca, We Are One+Together, Visionaire, and Grindr presented a special screening of the film “War Within,” which is the first installment in the We Are One+Together film series. The film tells the personal story of a gay Muslim man’s struggle to reconcile his sexuality and faith, his longing for acceptance from his family, and his journey to love and accept himself.

In celebration of Pride Month and NYC Pride, the non-profit We Are One+Together has launched the Mr. Gay Syria campaign and the Baytee One+Together Center, both which aims to educate and help those part of the LGBTQ community in Syria and the Middle East.

The LGBTQ community in Muslim nations are under attack, which founded the Mr. Gay Syria campaign to respond to the need of several LGBTQ Syrian asylum seekers who participated in the Mr. Gay Syria Contest and are now fleeing harassment, torture, and mass murders.

Photography by Elliott Sailors and courtesy of Zirkova One+Together.

To get the word out there about the campaign and the cause, acclaimed fashion illustrator Jeffery Fulyimari illustrated “I Am Mr. Gay Syria Apparel.” The campaign also partnered with Grindr, a popular gay dating app, to add to their social media campaign. The company will be creating a special Mr. Gay Syria emoji icon to be used across its platform, in an effort to spread awareness for this crucial cause.

“We Are One+Together has undertaken the Mr. Gay Syria initiative to gain asylum for these Mr. Gay Syria contestants, including financing legal aid as well as generating political and public support.”

– Derek Anderson, founder of We Are One+Together.

We Are One+Together has also created a petition on change.org urging the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services to take swift action and accelerate the process of granting asylum for the five contestants from Mr. Gay Syria.